Mechanical lug connectors are used to secure electrical conductors. FIGS. 1, 2, and 3A-C illustrate prior art mechanical lug connectors. The mechanical lug 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a main body 12 with overlapping flanges 14, 16 and a mounting tongue 18. The mechanical lug 10 does not include any interlocking features. As such, the flanges 14, 16 tend to open up and separate from each other when tightening the screw 20 that secures the electrical conductor positioned therein.
The mechanical lug 30 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3A-C is an improvement over the mechanical lug 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. The mechanical lug 30 includes a main body 32 with a mounting tongue 42. The main body 32 has an inner flange 34 with a T-shaped cut out 36 and an overlapping outer flange 37 with a T-shaped flange 38. As illustrated in FIG. 3B, the T-shaped flange 38 of the outer flange 37 is positioned within the T-shaped cut out 36 of the inner flange 34. The side walls 40 of the inner flange 34 are weakened due to the T-shaped cut out 36. As a result, when the screw 44 is tightened to secure an electrical conductor, the T-shaped flange 38 pulls upward thereby opening up the lug and separating the flanges from each other.
Thus, the flanges of prior art lugs, such as those discussed above, tend to open up and separate from each other as the screw securing the electrical conductor is being tightened to the specified torque.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved mechanical lug connector with interlocking features that do not separate when a screw is tightened to secure an electrical conductor positioned therein.